TUPE Question - does anyone know

[Newandneverusedbefore]

I don't know if anyone can help as I think this is a question for a solicitor?

I'm facing transfer by TUPE into a new organisation which will be followed by a staff consultation / applying for posts and so on, but the TUPE transfer / staff consultation is likely to take place 6 months prior to actual transfer of the service. Does anyone know if this is legally allowable and I could go through all that, then sit in my current post for another 6 months?

TIA

That doesn't make sense. The TUPE transfer is when your employment switches to the new employer. If the service has not transferred when you move across your new employer won't have anything for you to do and your current employer won't have anyone to fulfill the service. Do you mean that the new employer intends to carry out the service from a different location and the current site won't close down for several months after you transfer? If so, that is perfectly normal.

The other possibility that occurs to me is that the existing employer is going to subcontract the service to the new employer for the final few months of their contract, although that generally wouldn't make sense economically.

Do you mean they are consulting 6 months before the transfer? Can’t see anything wrong with that particularly, if the decision has been made, rather than ignoring it until nearer the time.

The staff consultation and the actual transfer are separate.

It sounds as though they plan to consult, offer one to ones and job match etc. prior to your transfer.

In my experience, it's unlikely you will know their decision until you actually transfer.

Hi, thanks for the replies.

Sorry I didn't explain it very well. I think yes, consultation/job offers are separate to the transfer. This is because there are a number of different services to TUPE into one organisation and they are doing them phased rather than all at once IYKWIM.

I really hope I don't have to wait for the decision - I'd rather know tbh

Thanks for the help all

@Newandneverusedbefore

TUPE is pretty complex to understand at the outset but as a basic starting point, you won’t need to apply for posts if you transfer.

If the work is moving, your role will move on the same terms and conditions. It happens automatically as an operation of law - neither company can choose to opt into or out of a transfer.

However part of the consultation has to be any “measures” that the new employer is proposing to take after the transfer, so you should get a heads up about their intentions (and potentially whether they will restructure after the transfer).

The only way you wouldn’t be working under your old terms and conditions would be if a) the role is potentially redundant because there are too many people doing it, in which case they could terminate or offer you an alternative, or b) if you voluntarily take a different role, but that would be very unusual.